A small masticating crowd gathered at Seattle's recently cleaned Gum Wall on Saturday, November 14th, following the horrific terrorist attacks. After much chewing, people placed small gooey wads on the wall to form the now famous "Peace for Paris" symbol out of their used gum. The mission, odd though their methods may be, was to show their solidarity and support for the people of Paris.
Tourists and locals who visit the gum wall under Seattle's Pike Place Market, spent the last 20 years plastering their used gum to Post Ally's walls, pipes and a theater box office window. The disgusting tradition began with people waiting to catch a movie at the local theater and grew into a disturbing, unhygienic display.
Despite the love of this iconic germ infestation, the city of Seattle decided it was about time to clean the mess. "It took workers an estimated 130 hours to fill 94 buckets with 2,350 pounds of gum, according to a news release from the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority," reports Seattle Times.
King 5 News points out, "Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority says they removed the gum to preserve the historic buildings in the district." Perhaps there is a little more to it than that though. The Telegraph was able to speak with one local, Zoe Freeman, about the cleanup, and quoted him as saying, " It's an icon. It's history. The market is famous for the gum wall. But it also draws rats."
Once the rather large, revolting job of melting the chewed, synthetic rubber mess from the walls with a pressure washer was complete, Pike Place Market released a nifty time-lapse video of the removal process. They reduced the 130 hour debacle to about 30 seconds of footage pressure-washing fun. It is a bit reminiscent of a bad 80's movie montage. All we need now is theme music.
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